I guess this won’t be too painful…

(posted by tobias)
Well folks, it looks like I’m off to Never-Never-land. Or the closest that enormous amounts of oil money can build, as it were. I have been offered a four-month contract at the world-famous Burj-al-Arab hotel. Yes, that hotel, the one that looks like a giant sail, , beside one of the Palm Islands developments designed to look like a palm tree from space. Let’s just say I am bracing for an extremely wierd but not unpleasant experience, not unlike a visit to the space station except hotter, less cramped, with gravity and what is billed as 7-star service.

Even though they might not let me stay in the Royal Suite (left), or use the helipad tennis court, I am told that otherwise I will have guest status (including use of the fitness studio and spa, below), except that I’ll actually get paid for it – or rather, for my nightly gig in the top-floor restaurant. 200 metres in the air. Yikes.

I’ll also have some time on my hands to get into some new creative projects – I’m taking my laptop-based studio, and let’s just say I am not the only member of the Saints team harbouring Secret Plans. Watch this space for further developments…

Wow, that’s awesome man! Have fun there! I just watched a documentary on the discovery channel about those islands! I had never really heard of them before and now you’re going there to play piano! Cool stuff.

Heh. Here I was bracing for political flameage of one description or another, and preparing my rather lame but honest defense: I actually basically am doing this because I flat out need the money, being somewhat short on gigs of late, and because I hope to try to make use of the time to do some positive creative work that normal life seems to get in the way of.

However, I take it that if I can get over my own obviously deep-seated guilt for a bit, I officially have your permission to enjoy myself a little while I’m at it?